PRO BASKETBALL

PRO BASKETBALL; Bulls Get Defensive And Top Blazers

By CLIFTON BROWN,

Published: June 8, 1992

PORTLAND, Ore., June 7—
Relying on superb defense, the Chicago Bulls handcuffed the Portland Trail Blazers tonight and regained the upper hand in the National Basketball Association championship series.

Chicago prevailed, 94-84, in Game 3 at Portland Memorial Coliseum. The victory recaptured the home-court advantage for the Bulls, who now have two days to regroup before Game 4 of the four-of-seven-game series here Wednesday night.

It was the first loss for Portland in nine home playoff games. And the Bulls did it with brilliant defense, containing the Trail Blazers in a building where they often score 110 points or more. Only Clyde Drexler (32 points) was able to play his normal offensive game. Terry Porter (7 points) was a non-factor, as was Cliff Robinson (5 points, 2 for 11 from the floor), one of Portland's top two bench players.

Thanks to their defense, the Bulls didn't need offensive heroics from Michael Jordan (26 points) or Scottie Pippen (18 points, 8 rebounds). The Bulls controlled the tempo and frustrated the Trail Blazers, who could count their easy baskets on two hands. This looked more like a Knicks-Bulls playoff game than a Trail Blazers-Bulls playoff game, and the Bulls were better prepared than Portland to handle a defense-oriented contest. 'Champions Bounce Back'

"The defense is what did it today," said Bulls Coach Phil Jackson. "We were able to make them erratic. We continued to believe in ourselves. The last loss on Friday was demoralizing, but champions bounce back. We were able to do that."

Both teams looked tired, having played Friday night in Chicago, then making the long flight to Portland on Saturday.

But as Portland Coach Rick Adelman said: "That's the schedule and we have to play it. We shot poorly, and we did so much standing around. We're not going to be very good if we don't move the ball any better than today."

A key play occurred when Portland closed to 60-56 midway through the third quarter. With a chance to pull Portland within 2 points, Porter was called for an offensive foul for bumping into Bill Cartwright after making a driving layup. The basket was nullified. Chicago went on a 10-2 run immediately afterward.

"I'd like to see a replay of that," Porter said. "I drove and they called me for jumping in. It was a huge turning point."

Chicago never trailed in the second half and held off Portland's last rally. After two free throws by Drexler cut Chicago's lead to 74-68 with 5 minutes 13 seconds left, Jordan scored on a driving layup. Then, after a missed shot by Kevin Duckworth, Stacey King followed up a missed jumper by Jordan and laid it in, giving Chicago a 78-68 lead with four minutes to play. The way the Bulls played defense tonight, they were not going to lose another 10-point lead late in the game, as they did late in Game 2. And the Bulls' balanced scoring attack made it unnecessary for Jordan to carry Chicago's offense. Not Leaning on Jordan

"On Friday we looked for Michael to bail us out too often," Jackson said. "It's almost like having that pacifier -- putting it in your mouth again and sucking on it. Today we did a better job of distributing the ball."

Told of Jackson's comment, Horace Grant, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds, smiled and said: "I don't think we used him as a pacifier because there are no babies on this team. But I know for myself, I did a better job of moving without the ball, and Scottie and Michael did a great job of getting it to me."

Jackson was called for a technical foul midway through the third quarter for protesting an out-of-bounds call, but Jackson didn't see much else to get upset about today. The Bulls were in control and, as a result, they found themselves ahead in the series again.

Smothering Portland's offense with a suffocating defense, the Bulls built a 54-45 halftime lead. Chicago led by as many as 15 points late in the second quarter, but the Trail Blazers ended the half with a 9-2 run, giving them some solace as they entered intermission. Drexler kept Portland within striking distance, leading all scorers with 16 points and carrying his struggling teammates. Forcing Turnovers

Throughout the game, Portland was frustrated offensively. The Bulls kept the Trail Blazers out of the lane, kept them from running and forced turnovers. When the Trail Blazers did get the ball inside, they often rushed their shots because the Bulls were contesting everything.

Robinson had a particularly dreadful first half, shooting 1 for 9. Every possession became a struggle for Portland -- a struggle to score and a struggle to get high-percentage shots. Chicago controlled the tempo as fast-break opportunities for Portland were few and far between. Portland was shut out the first four minutes of the second quarter as the Trail Blazers struggled when they had to depend strictly on half-court offense. 'It Was Pretty Ugly'

"It wasn't pretty, in fact it was pretty ugly," said Bulls guard B. J. Armstrong. "I'm just glad we were on the right end of it. The thing that matters is that we had to win one here and we won the first one. Now we, not them, have the chance to win the series here."

The Bulls jumped to an early lead and showed that their late-game collapse in Game 2 had not shaken their confidence. Balanced scoring was an early indicator that Chicago was playing well. Pippen (14 points) and Grant (13 points) led the Bulls' first-half offense. As for Jordan, he was often content to survey the action in the first half, like a cobra waiting for the right moment to strike. Jordan finished with 12 first-half points and took only 10 shots. Of course, that meant he would have plenty of energy left for the second half.

"We played beautiful enough to win," Jordan said. "I think when our backs are against the wall, we respond." REBOUNDS

Chicago's victory over Portland gave the Eastern Conference a nine-game road winning streak over the Western Conference in the N.B.A. Finals. Although the loss was Portland's first in the playoffs at home this year, the Trail Blazers now have lost four straight at home in the Finals -- three games in 1990 to the Detroit Pistons and this one. The Los Angeles Lakers lost three at the Forum to Chicago in 1991 and two to the Pistons there in 1989. The 0-9 mark at home comes after the Western Conference champions in those four seasons finished a combined 136-28 at home during the regular season. . . . MICHAEL JORDAN has led Chicago in scoring by himself in 18 of 19 playoff games this year. He tied with SCOTTIE PIPPEN, each with 29, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. . . . The team with the fewest turnovers has won all three games of the Finals. Chicago had 12 turnovers to the Blazers' 21 in Game 1; Portland had 10 turnovers to the Bulls' 15 in Game 2, and Chicago had 16 to Portland's 20 tonight.